Here’s a summary of what you can find in my weekly China Digest for SportBusiness:
Scooter company becomes latest Chinese firm to bankroll FIFA
Yadea has become the latest Chinese company to sponsor FIFA, with the electric scooter company becoming a “regional supporter” – the third of three sponsorship tiers – for this year’s World Cup in Russia. Under the terms of the deal, Yadea will see LED advertising exposure during World Cup matches, as well as access to tickets and brand association rights in Asia. FIFA’s chief commercial officer, Philippe Le Floc’h, noted that Yadea’s appeal to a younger audience as well as its emphasis on a sustainable lifestyle were two important elements of the deal, although given that Gazprom is one of the tournament’s main sponsors, it’s likely that the monetary compensation was, as usual, of primary importance.
Yadea is only the second regional supporter of the 2018 World Cup, although with Chinese sports agency Desports tasked with finding more companies across Asia to fill the regional supporter slots, it’s likely that others will soon be added. Yadea is the fifth Chinese company to sign up as a World Cup sponsor, joining Wanda – one of FIFA’s top-tier partners – and Mengniu, Vivo and Hisense – all second-tier World Cup sponsors. Separately, Alibaba’s Cloud division is the title sponsor of the FIFA Club World Cup.
CFA looks to tighten loopholes with transfer policy details
The Chinese Football Association (CFA) has issued some clarifications regarding its somewhat vague transfer policy, specifically with regard to the tax levied on foreign players coming into the Chinese Super League (CSL). The rule was introduced last year in a bid to stop irrational spending, with all foreign players costing more than 45m RMB ($7m) subject to a 100% tax to be paid into a grassroots development fund.
CFA published Supplementary Rules for 100% levy charge on purchasing players (1) fees activating buy-out/release clause will be treated as transfer fee, whether it is paid by the club, the player or any 3rd party. Clubs should submit details of transfer & payment methods to CFA. pic.twitter.com/dUSwBkN7d5
— Titan Sports (@titan_plus) February 12, 2018
In a statement published on the CFA’s website, three main points were made: namely that fees paid to activate a buy out or release clause will be counted as part of the transfer fee, irrespective of who pays the fee; if a long-term loan later turns into a transfer, the loan fees will be regarded as part of the transfer fee; and in cases where clubs try to avoid the transfer levy, they could face a 15-point penalty, while the player will be suspended until the tax is paid. The first point is a clear reference to Beijing Guoan’s pending transfer of Cedric Bakambu, where the club has been trying to argue that the tax does not apply, while the second point appears to reference Anthony Modeste’s two-year loan to Tianjin Quanjian from FC Koln, due to become permanent at the end of the loan period. However, with CSL clubs notorious for circumventing the letter of the law any way they can, the third point seems to be a catch-all clause to stop bad behavior in general.
Also in this week’s China Digest:
- Alibaba unveils its vision for the future of the Olympic Games.
- Calls for the joint Korean women’s ice hockey team to be nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.
- Tottenham Hotspur and Swansea City become the latest sports teams to mark Chinese New Year.
To read about these stories in full and find other China-related links to topics including Neymar‘s sponsorship with Chinese electronics brand TCL, a new head for China Sports Media, skiing’s origins in China’s remote west and former NBA star Stephon Marbury‘s tearful farewell to basketball after eight seasons in China, head to SportBusiness to read the column in full.
